Hypothermia baby bunting

ABSTRACT

An infant&#39;&#39;s hypothermia bunting having front and rear panels of two-way stretch fabric. Longitudinally extending tubes connected to the front and rear panels for conveying temperature-controlled fluid. Snap fasteners for adjusting the lateral size of the bunting and snap fasteners for adjusting the longitudinal size of the bunting to conform to different infant body sizes. Zippers at the center and sides of the bunting to provide body access for hospital purposes. A plastic liner releasably fastened to the rear panel for distributing the loads of tube projections. A pocket at the bottom of the bunting for containing manifolds collecting inlet ends of the tubes and outlet ends of the tubes for common connections to the inlet and outlet fittings of a hypothermia machine.

145] Feb. 6, 1973 HYPOTHERMIA BABY- BUNTING FOREIGN PATENTS ORAPPLICATIONS 2/1966 France..............t......................5/343Inventor: John C. Hardy, Weatogue, Conn.

Louis,

[73] Assignee:

A l' C t' St. g [ca orpora [on Primary Examiner-Lawrence W. TrappAttorney Rogers, Ezell, Eilers 8; Robbins Feb, 11, 1971 Appl. No.1114,466

[22] Filed:

[57] ABSTRACT An infants hypothermia bunting ha-ving front and rearRelated Apphcauon panels of two-way stretch fabric. Longitudinally ex-Continuzition-in-part of Ser. No. 114,607, Feb. 11 tending tubesconnected to the front and rear panels 197].

for conveying temperature-controlled fluid. Snap 2 0 fasteners foradjusting the lateral size of the bunting and snap fasteners foradjusting the longitudinal size of the bunting to conform to differentinfant body sizes. Zippers at the center and sides of the bunting toprovide body access for hospital purposes. A plastic liner releasablyfastened to the rear panel for distributing the loads of tubeprojections. A pocket at the bot- Int. 7/00 128/400, 402, l B, 134, 379,

[58] Field of Search References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS tom of thebunting for containing manifolds collecting inlet ends of the tubes andoutlet ends'of the tubes for McDonald............................Clark.............

Landsberger et al.....

IIIII PATENTEU F E 6 I 7 'SHEEI 10F 2 -llll IIIIIJ- JOHN C. HARDY fad,Aria/awa s HYPOTHERMIA BABY BUNTING This application is acontinuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 114,607 filed on Feb. II,1971.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION:

This infants hypothermia bunting controls an infants body temperaturefor hospital purposes, such as surgical operations. Loss of body heatduring preparation for surgery produces adverse physiological effectswhich can be critical, particularly for premature infants. It isimportant that the body temperature of the infant be controlledefficiently and uniformly over the entire body of the infant.

Most prior art systems circulate water through plastic tube blankets orpads which are stiff and do not conform to the body, resulting ininefficient heat transfer and local hot and cold spots. These prior artsystems that incorporate plastic blankets or pads are heavy andtherefore preclude covering the front of the finfants body leaving largeexposed body surface areas and consequent loss of body heat. The priorart systems include fluid transport tubes sandwiched between twoimpermeable plastic plys, limiting sterilization and laundering. Theyare very uncomfortable, particularly to those areas of the infants bodythat rest on body supporting surfaces. The impermeable constructionlimits breathing and evaporation of body moisture, adding to discomfort.

This infants hypothermia garment comprises front and rear panels ofstretch fabric. The panels are rectangular in shape and are joined attheir sides and bottom edges. The upper edges are separable to providean opening for receiving an infants body into the envelope between thefront and rear panels.

The bunting encloses the body of the infant from the neck down. Severalfluid conveying tubes are attached to the inner surfaces of the panelsby stitching or by an attachment method set forth in a co-pendingapplication of the present inventor filed in close proximity to thefiling date of the present application and identified as Rogers, Ezell,Eilers and Robbins Docket 16,484 entitled Method of Joining Tubes toFabrics. The tubes extend longitudinally along the panels to permit andnot interfere with lateral or circumferential expansion of the buntingto conform to the contour of the infants body. Each tube consists of asupply pass and a return pass. The supply passes lead from inletmanifolds, and the return passes return to outlet manifolds. Themanifolds are located in a pocket at the bottom of the bunting and areconnected by tubes to a hyperthermia machine that circulatestemperature-controlled fluid through the tubes. The supply passes andreturn passes are alternated to effect substantially uniform temperaturedistribution over the entire inner surfaces of the bunting.

Two longitudinal lines of snap fasteners are spaced inwardly of the sideedges of the front and rear panels for adjustment of the width of theinner envelope of the bunting. Three lateral lines of snap fasteners arespaced upwardly from the lower edges of the front and rear panels toadjust the depth of the inner envelope. These snap fasteners thus varythe effective volume of the bunting so that it can be made to conform todifferent sizes and shapes of infant's bodies, with the stretch fabricmaterial of the bunting providing further conformity to the contour ofthe infants body.

A plastic liner has snap fasteners around its edges for releasablefastening to the inner surface of the rear panel to distribute the loadand pressure created by the fluid conveying tubes. The panel isremovable for sterilization of the panel and for sterilization andlaundering of the bunting.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a front elevation view ofthe infants hypothermia bunting with parts broken away;

FIG. 2 is a rear elevation view of the infants hypothermia bunting withparts broken away;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary right side elevation view taken alongthe line 33 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary right side elevation view taken alongthe line 44 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a front elevation view of the plastic liner on a reducedscale;

FIG. 6 is a right side elevation view of the plastic liner of FIG 5 onthe scale of FIGS. 1 and 2;

FIG. 7 is an enlarged fragmentary view in section taken along the line7-7 of FIG. 5;

FIG. 8 is a front elevation view of an enlarged seal of a manifold withparts shown in section;

FIG 9 is a fragmentary view in section taken along the line 99 of FIG.8;

FIG. 10 is a schematic view of the connections of the manifold to ahyperthermia machine.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION oF THE INVENTION This bunting has a front panel 21that is about 18 inches wide and 24 inches long and a rear panel 22 thatis the same width as the front panel and is about 30 inches long. Theforegoing lengths are exclusive of a bag at the lower end of the buntingto be described hereinafter. The front panel 21 has an upper edge 23with a downwardly curved center 24 positioned where the neck of aninfant within the bunting would be located, and has side edges 25 and26. The rear panel 22 has an upper edge 27 that is about 6 inches abovethe upper edge 23 of the front panel and has side edges 28 and 29. Theside edges 26 and 28 of the front and rear panels respectively are sewedto the front and rear cloth bindings 30 and 31 of a zipper 32. Thezipper 32 has a separator start element 33 at its upper end and a slider34 that can fully open the zipper 32 with the upper ends separated downto a cloth stop element 35 at the lower end of the zipper that is sewnto the front and rear panels 21 and 22.

The other side edges 25 and 29 of the front and rear panels respectivelyare similarly sewn to the front and the rear cloth bindings 39 and 40 ofa zipper 41. The zipper 41 has a separator start element 42 at its upperend and a slider 43 that can open the zipper 41 with the separatorelement 42 separated and the zipper 41 separated all the way down to acloth stop element 44 that is sewn to the front and rear panels 21 and22 at the lower end of the zipper 41.

A zipper 48 extends longitudinally along the center of the front panel21. The side cloth bindings 49 and 50 of the zipper 48 are sewn to thefront panel 21. The zipper 48 has a separator start element 51 at itsupper end. A slider 52 can open the zipper 48 with the separator element51 separated and the zipper 48 separated all the way down to a clothstop element 53 sewn to the front panel 21 at the lower end of thezipper 48.

The front and rear panels 21 and 22 continue below the cloth zipper stopelements 35, 44 and 53 and are sewn together at their side and bottomedges to form a bag 56. A lateral zipper 57 having a slider 58 provides,

access to the interior of the bag 56.

There are 12 tubes 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68,69, 70, 71, 72 and 73extending longitudinally of and fastened to the inner surface of thefront panel 21, six of the tubes 62 through 67 being fastened to thefront panel between the zippers 41 and 48 and the other six tubes 68through 73 being fastened to the front panel between the zippers 48 and32. Each tube 62 through 73 has a supply pass 74 and a return pass 75.The tubes 62 through 73 may be attached to the panel 21 by stitches 76spaced at about 3-inch intervals or they may be attached by the methodset forth in a co-pending application of the present inventor filed atabout the same time as the present application and identified by Rogers,Ezell, Eilers and Robbins Docket 16484, entitled Method of Joining Tubesto Fabrics. The tubes 62 through 73 are arranged such that supply passes74 alternate with return passes 75 and are substantially evenly spacedto distribute temperature-controlled fluid uniformly over the entiresurface area of the buntmg.

The lower ends of the supply passes 74 of the tubes 62 through 73 extenddownwardly into the bag 56 and are connected to a supply or inletmanifold 77. The lower ends of the return passes 75 of the tubes 62through 73 extend downwardly into the bag 56 and are connected to areturn or outlet manifold 78.

Twelve tubes 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90, 91, and 92 arefastened to the inner surface of the rear panel 22. Each tube 81 through92 has a supply pass 93 and a return pass 94. The tubes 8.1 through 92are substantially evenly spaced across the width of the panel 22 withsupply and return passes 93 and 94 alternating with one another andsubstantially evenly spaced. The tubes are connected to the panel 22 byspaced stitches 95 or by the method of the aforesaid co-pendingapplication. All the ends of the supply passes 93 extend downwardly intothe bag 56 and are connected to a supply or inlet manifold 96. The lowerends of the return passes 94 extend downwardly into the bag 56 and areconnected to a return or outlet manifold 97. The tubes 62 73 and 81 92are small and flexible being about one-eighth inch to five-thirtyseconds inch in outside diameter.

FIG. 8 illustrates a typical manifold 77, the other manifolds 78, 96,and 97 being identical thereto. The tubes 74 are connected to themanifold 77, each communicating with a passage 100. Each passage 100communicates with av central passage 101 provided by a central tube 102to which a tube 103 is connected. These manifolds may be made by theprocess set forth in the present applicants co-pending application filedat about the same time as the present application and being identifiedas Rogers, Ezell, Eilers & Robbins Docket 16485 entitled Method OfJoining Tubes To A Manifold.

In the case of the supply manifold 77, the tube 103 leads from a Yfitting 104. The other supply manifold 96 similarly has a tube 105leading from the Y fitting 104. A tube 106 leads to the Y fitting 104from an outlet connector 107 of a hyperthermia machine 108 of'aconventional kind that circulates temperature-con- 119, and 120 arespaced inwardly about three inches from the left side edge of the frontpanel 21. Three snap fasteners 121, 122, and 123 that are complementaryto the snap fasteners 118, 119, and 120 are joined to the rear panel 22.The snap fasteners 121, 122, and 123 are in a longitudinal row and arelocated directly opposite the snap fasteners 118, 119, and 120.

A similar row of three snap fasteners 124, 125, and 126 is spaced aboutthree inches longitudinally inwardly from the right front edge of thebunting. The snap fasteners 124, 125, and 126 are joined to the frontpanel and are located directly opposite three snap fasteners 127, 128and 129 that are joined to the rear panel 22.

Two snap fasteners 132 and 133 are laterally aligned with the snapfasteners 120 and 126 and are joined to the front panel 21. The line ofsnap fasteners 120,132 133 and 126 is spaced above the lower edge of thebunting 20 by about eleven inches, the lower edge being defined as animaginary line through the fabric zipper stops 44, 53, and 35 above thebag 56. Two snap fasteners 134 and 135 are joined to the rear panel 22in positions directly opposite the snap fasteners 1'32 and 133 and inline with the snap fasteners 129 and 123. The snap fasteners 134 and 135are complementary to the snap fasteners 132 and 133.

Two laterally aligned snap fasteners 136 and 137 are joined to the frontpanel 21 approximately 4 inches below the snap fasteners 132 and 133.Two snap fasteners 138 and 139 that are joined tothe rear panel 22 areopposite to and complementary to the snap fasteners 136 and 137. Anothertwo snap fasteners 140 and 141 are laterally aligned and spacedapproximately four inches below the snap fasteners 136 and 137 and arejoined to the front panel 21. Two complementary snap fasteners 142 and143 are joined to the rear panel 22 and are positioned opposite the snapfasteners 140 and 141.

The lines of longitudinal snap fasteners 118 and 119 and 120 and 121,122, and 123 and the lines of longitudinal snap fasteners 124, 125, and126 and 127, 128 i and 129 can be snapped together to reducethe-circumferential size of the bunting 20, or just one longitudinalline of snap fasteners may be snapped together, thus providingcircumferential adjustment to an infant's body size. The lateral line ofsnap fasteners 120, 132, 133, and 126 may be snapped to the snapfasteners 123, 134, 135, and 129 for depth adjustment. Alternatively,the snap fasteners 136, 137, 138, and 139 may be snapped together or thesnap fasteners 140, 141, 142, and 143 may be snapped together to providevariations in depth adjustment for infant body lengths. Following suchcoarse adjustment of the inner envelope, the stretch fabric of thepanels 21 and 22 causes the bunting to conform to the body of theinfant.

A plastic liner 146 is shaped to overlie the inner surface of the rearpanel 22, forward of and overlying the tubes 81 92. The plastic liner146 has spaced snap fasteners 147 adjacent to its upper and side edges.The rear panel 22 has forwardly projecting spaced snap fasteners 148adjacent its upper and side edges complementary to the snap fasteners147. The liner 146 also has holes 149 through it located to permit thevarious size adjustment snap fasteners 118 through 129 and 132 through143 to be snapped together. All adjustment snap fasteners are reinforcedby the plastic discs to prevent the snaps from pulling from its mountingsubstrate.

In use, an infants body from the neck down is located within theenvelope between the front and rear panels 21 and 22. Depending upon thesize of the infants body, different ones of the size adjustment snapfasteners are snapped together or, for a relatively large infant, allthe size adjustment snap fasteners are left unsnapped. The front zipper48 and two side zippers 32 and 41 can be unzipped for easier entry ofthe infant into the bunting. Also, these zippers provide flexibility ofaccess to the infants body for hospital and surgical purposes.

With the infant in the bunting, the stretch fabric holds the bunting inconformity with the infants body. Temperature controlled fluidis'circulated through the one-eighth to five thirty-seconds inch outsidediameter tubes 62 through 73 and 81 through 92 so that the infants bodyheat can be maintained at a desired level even in relatively cooloperating atmospheres. The liner 146 eliminates pressure points from thetubes 81 through 92. For laundering and sterilization of the bunting,the lining 146 can be removed. This permits sterilization of the liner146 also.

Thus, this infants hypothermia bunting provides efficient heat transferto the infants body. The two directional stretch fabric of the front andrear panels 21 and 22 conforms the tubes to the infant2 body. Thealternating of supply and return passes of the tubes providessubstantially uniform temperature distribution over the entire surfacesof the front and rear panels 21 and 22. At the same time, comfort isprovided by the porosity of the fabric of the front and rear panels 21and 22.

The bunting is light in weight and the fabric is soft and flexible sothat is not uncomfortable when resting on the infants body. The rearliner 146 distributes the loads that otherwise would be caused by theprotruding profiles of the tubes 81 through 92. This liner is made ofhigh thermal conductivity plastic for increased heat transfer.

With the adjustment snap fasteners, the bunting can be sized to fit allinfants up to the age of about 6 months. The locations of the sizeadjustment snap fasteners tapers the inside envelope to conform to thenatural taper of the torso and legs of the infant.

Zipper bindings 30, 31, 39 and 40 and Zipper stop elements 35 and 44made from electrostatically conductive cloth and communicateelectrostatically with another conductive cloth strip 150 located insidethe pouch 56. The conductive cloth strip 150 is attached directly tozipper stop elements 35 and 44, and also to a conductive velcro pilestrip 151 (pile facing down) located along the pouch centerline toelectrostatically ground the hunting to the operating table. Strip 151is secured to the outer rear surface of pouch 56 along the centerline ofthe bunting with stitching 152.

Velcro pile tabs and 156 (approximately 2 inches by 10 inches) areattached to the outside rear panel 22 surface by stitches (approximately2 inches of stitching and 8 inches free length). Velcro hook tabs 153and 154 are located along the zipper bindings 50 and 49 respectively inthe same horizontal line as tabs 155 and 156. The tabs are so arrangedthat when the right-hand side of front panel 21, as viewed in FIG. 1, isopened and folded or rolled back to permit surgery on the left side ofan infant, the tabs 156 and 154 are pressed together to hold thatright-hand side firmly against the infants torso. Conversely, when thelefthand side of front panel 21 is opened and folded or rolled back topermit surgery on the right side of an infant, the tabs 155 and 153 arepressed together to hold that left-hand side firmly against the infantstorso. When not required, the tabs 155 and 156 are folded under the rearpanel 22 of the bunting.

Various changes and mofifications may be made within this invention aswill be readily apparent to those skilled in the art. Such changes andmodifications are within the scope and teaching of this invention asdefined by the claims appended hereto.

What Is Claimed Is:

1. An infant bunting for enclosing the body of an infant and forcontrolling the body temperature of said infant comprising a flexibleenclosure sized to receive said body of said infant, said enclosurehaving a front portion disposable in register with the front of saidbody of said infant and having a rear portion disposable in registerwith the rear of said body of said infant, tubing which is connected tothe surface of said front portion of said enclosure in a patterndistributing said tubing over substantially the entire surface of saidfront portion of said enclosure that contacts said front of said infantsbody and which confines and guides heatexchanging fluid for movement inheat-exchanging relation with respect to said front of said infantsbody, further tubing connected to the surface of said rear portion ofsaid enclosure in a pattern distributing said further tubing oversubstantially the entire surface of said rear portion of said enclosurethat contacts said rear of said infants body and which confines andguides heat-exchanging fluid for movement in heatexchanging relationwith respect to said rear of said infants body, means to control thetemperature of said heat-exchanging fluid moving through the first saidtubing and also through said further tubing, releasable fastener meanson said front portion of said enclosure which are spaced inwardly fromedges of said front portion of said enclosure, and complementaryreleasable fastener means on said rear portion of said enclosure whichare spaced inwardly from edges of said rear portion of said enclosure,the first said releasable fastener means being in register with andbeing selectively securable to and releasable from said complementaryreleasable fastener means, the first said releasable fastener means andsaid complementary releasable fastener means being releasable from eachother to permit a large amount of the area of said front portion of saidenclosure to be moved far enough away from a corresponding amount of thearea of said rear portion of said enclosure to enable said bunting toaccommodate but confine the body of a large infant, the first saidreleasable fastener means and said complementary releasable fastenermeans being securable together to join said front portion of saidenclosure to said rear portion of said enclosure at points which arespaced inwardly of said edges of said front portion and of said rearportion of said enclosure, and thereby reduce the amount of area of saidfront portion of said enclosure which can be moved far enough away froma corresponding amount of the area of said rear portion of saidenclosure to accommodate but confine the body of a smaller infant,whereby selective securing or releasing of the first said releasablefastener means and of said complementary releasable fastener meansreadily and directly varies the effective size of said bunting forconformance of said bunting to the bodies of infants of varying sizes.

2. The infant bunting of claim 1 wherein said front portion of saidenclosure is a front panel, wherein said rear portion of said enclosureis a rear panel, wherein the first said releasable fastener means areindividual and discrete fasteners longitudinally aligned and spacedinwardly from the side edges of said front panel and are furtherindividual and discrete fasteners laterally aligned and spaced upwardlyfrom the lower edge of said front panel, wherein said complementaryreleasable fastener means are individual and discrete fastenerslongitudinally aligned and spaced inwardly from the side edges of saidrear panel and are further individual and discrete fasteners laterallyaligned and spaced upwardly from the lower edge of said rear panel,whereby the first said releasable fastener means and said complementaryreleasable fastener means coact to permit said effective size of saidbunting to be adjusted longitudinally as well as laterally.

3. The infant bunting of claim 1 wherein said front portion of saidenclosure is made of stretch fabric that is stretchable in at least thelateral direction, wherein said rear portion of said enclosure is madeof stretch fabric that is stretchable in at least the lateral direction,wherein the first said releasable fastener means and said complementaryreleasable fastener means coact to provide a coarse size adjustment inthe lateral direction, and wherein the stretchable nature of saidstretch fabric of said front portion and of said rear portion of saidenclosure enable said front portion and said rear portion of saidenclosure to provide a fine size adjustment in the lateral direction.

4. The infant bunting of claim 1 wherein the first said tubing is fluidconveying tubing, wherein said further tubing is fluid conveying tubing,wherein the first said tubing comprises a plurality of individual tubeseach having a supply span and a return span, wherein the tube spans ofthe first said tubing are located with supply spans alternating withreturn spans for uniform temperature distribution over the surface ofsaid front means receive fluid from said return spans of the first saidand said further tubing.

5. The infant bunting of claim 1 wherein said front portion of saidenclosure is a front panel, wherein said rear portion of said enclosureis a rear panel, wherein the first said releasable fastener means areindividual and discrete fasteners, wherein said complementary releasablefastener means are further individual and discrete fasteners, wherein apressure-distribution liner is releasably fastened to said rear panel,wherein said pressure-distribution liner overlies said further tubingand can distribute evenly to said body of said infant the forces whichsaid further tubing otherwise would distribute unevenly to said body ofsaid infant, and wherein said pressure-distribution liner has openingstherein in register with the first said and said further releasablefastener means to enable the first said and said further releasablefastener means to engage each other through said openings.

6. An infant bunting for controlling body temperature comprising frontand rear panels joined at their side and bottom edges to form a pocketopen at its upper end to receive the body of an infant, a plurality ofsmall-diameter tubes fastened in a substantially uniformly spaced arrayto a surface of said front panel, a second plurality of small-diametertubes fastened in a substantially uniformly spaced array to a surface ofsaid rear panel, each tube of the first said plurality of smalldiametertubes having a supply span for receiving temperature-controlled fluidand a return span for returning said temperature-controlled fluid aftersaid temperature-controlled fluid has been in heat-exchanging relationwith said body of said infant, each tube of said second plurality ofsmall-diameter tubes having asupply span for receivingtemperature-controlled fluid and a return span for returning saidtemperature-controlled fluid after said temperature-controlled fluid hasbeen in heat-exchanging relation with said body of said infant,distributor means to receive said temperaturecontrolled fluid from asource of temperature-controlled fluid and to supply saidtemperature-controlled fluid to said supply spans of said tubes of thefirst said plurality of small-diameter tubes and to supply saidtemperature-controlled fluid to said supply spans of said tubes of saidsecond plurality of small-diameter tubes and thereby enable the firstsaid plurality and said second plurality of small-diameter tubes tocirculate temperature-controlled fluid in heat-exchanging relation withsaid body of said infant, further distributor means connected to saidreturn spans of said tubes of the first said plurality of small-diametertubes and to said return spans of said tubes of said second plurality ofsmall-diameter tubes to receive said temperaturecontrolled fluid fromsaid tubes of the first said plurality and said second plurality ofsmall-diameter tubes after said temperature-controlled fluid has been inheat-exchanging relation with said body of said infant and to returnsaid temperature-controlled fluid to said source oftemperature-controlled fluid, releasable fastener means on said frontpanel that are distributed longitudinally and laterally of said frontpanel, complementary releasable fastener means on said rear panel thatare distributed longitudinally and laterally on said rear panel, thefirst said releasable fastener means and said complementary releasablefastener means being releasable to permit large amounts of thecontronting areas of said front panel and of said rear panel to be movedapart to accommodate the body of a large infant, some of thelongitudinally-distributed releasable fastener means of the first saidreleasable fastener means and some of the longitudinally-distributedreleasable fastener means of said complementary releasable fastenermeans being securable together to reduce the amounts of said confrontingareas of said front and said rear panels which can be moved apart toaccommodate the body of an infant and thereby enable said bunting toaccommodate and closely confine the body of an infant of smaller girth,some of the laterallydistributed releasable fastener means of the firstsaid releasable fastener means and some of the laterally-distributedreleasable fastener means of said complementary releasable fastenermeans being securable together to reduce the amounts of said confrontingareas of said front and said rear panels which can be moved apart toaccommodate the body of an infant and thereby enable said bunting toaccommodate and closely confine the body of an infant of shorter height,whereby the first said releasable fastener means and said complementaryreleasable fastener means enable said bunting to accommodate and closelyconfine the bodies of infants of differing girths and differing heights.

7. The infant bunting of claim 1 wherein zippers selectively connect andfree the edges of openings in said enclosure, wherein said zippers haveelectrostatically conductive zipper bindings, wherein said enclosure haselectrostatically conductive cloth strips, and wherein saidelectrostatically conductive zipper bindings and said electrostaticallyconductive cloth strips are in communication electrostatically with acentral conductive tab to permit grounding of the bunting to theoperating table by placing said central conductive tab in engagementwith said operating table.

8. The infant bunting of claim 1 wherein said front portion of saidenclosure is subdivided into two sides, wherein each of said two sidesis selectively movable to an open position wherein it is spaced awayfrom the corresponding side of the front of the body of an infantdisposed within said enclosure to permit medical procedures to becarried out on said corresponding side of said front of said body ofsaid infant, wherein each of said two sides is selectively movable to aclosed position wherein it is in intimate contact with the correspondingside of said front of said body of said infant, and wherein adjustablereleasable circumferential fastener tabs span the opened side of saidbunting during medical procedures thereby maintaining the closed side ofthe bunting in intimate contact with the corresponding side of saidfront of said body of said infant.

9. An infant bunting for enclosing the body of an infant and forcontrolling the body temperature of said infant comprising an enclosurewhich is made of stretch fabric that is stretchable in at least thelateral direction, said enclosure having a front panel disposable inregister with the front of the body of an infant and having a rear paneldisposable in register with the rear of said body of said infant, saidfront panel and said rear panel being sized to enable said enclosure toaccommodate the body ofa large infant with only limited stretching ofsaid stretch fabric in said lateral direction, fluid-conveying tubingsecured to said front panel of said enclosure in a pattern distributingsaid fluid-conveying tubing over substantially the entire surface ofsaid front panel of said enclosure that contacts said front of saidinfants body to confine and guide heat-exchanging fluid for movement inheat-exchanging relation with respect to said front of said infantsbody, further fluidconveying tubing secured to said rear panel of saidenclosure in a pattern distributing said further fluid-conveying tubingover substantially the entire surface of said rear panel of saidenclosure that contacts said rear of said infants body to confine andguide heatexchanging fluid for movement in heat-exchanging relation withrespect to said rear of said infants body,

the first said fluidconveying tubing including a plurality of individualtubes that have supply spans and return spans, said plurality ofindividual tubes of the first said fluid-conveying tubing being disposedso the supply and return spans of the first said fluid-conveying tubingalternate to provide uniform temperature distribution over substantiallythe entire surface of said front panel of said enclosure that contactssaid front of said infants body, said further fluid-conveying tubingincluding a further plurality of individual tubes that have supply spansand return spans, said further plurality of individual tubes of saidfurther fluid-conveying tubing being disposed so the supply and returnspans of said further fluid-conveying tubing alternate to provideuniform temperature distribution over substantially the entire surfaceof said rear panel of said enclosure that contacts said rear of saidinfants body, supply manifold means to supply heat-exchanging fluid tosaid supply spans of said plurality of individual tubes of the firstsaid fluid-conveying tubing and to said supply spans of said furtherplurality of individual tubes of said further fluid-conveying tubing,return manifold means to receive heat-exchanging fluid from said returnspans of said plurality of individual tubes of the first saidfluidconveying tubing and from said return spans of said furtherplurality of individual tubes of said further fluid-conveying tubing, aplurality of individual and discrete releasable fasteners secured tosaid front panel of said enclosure and spaced longitudinally andlaterally of said front panel .of said enclosure, said plurality ofreleasable fasteners being spaced inwardly from the side and bottomedges of said front panel of said enclosure, a plurality ofcomplementary individual and discrete releasable fasteners secured tosaid rear panel of said enclosure and spaced longitudinally andlaterally of said rear panel of said enclosure, said complementaryplurality of releasable fasteners being spaced inwardly from the sideand bottom edges of said rear panel of said enclosure, the releasablefasteners of the first said plurality of releasable fasteners being inregister with and being selectively securable to and releasable from thereleasable fasteners of said complementary plurality of releasablefasteners, the releasable fasteners of the first said plurality ofreleasable fasteners and the releasable fasteners of said complementaryplurality of releasable fasteners being releasable from each other topermit a large amount of the area of said front panel of said enclosureto be moved far enough away from a corresponding amount of the area'ofsaid rear panel of said enclosure to enable said bunting to accommodatebut confine the body of said large infant, some of thelongitudinally-spaced releasable fasteners of the first said pluralityof releasable fasteners and some of the longitudinally-spaced releasablefasteners of said complementary plurality of releasable fasteners beingsecurable together to reduce the amounts of said confronting areas ofsaid front and said rear panels which can be moved apart to accommodatethe body of an infant and thereby enable said bunting to accommodate andclosely confine the body of an infant of smaller height, some of thelaterallyspaced releasable fasteners of the first said plurality ofreleasable fasteners and some of the laterally-spaced releasablefasteners of said plurality of complementary releasable fasteners beingsecurable together to reduce the amounts of said confronting areas ofsaid front and said rear panels which can be moved apart to accommodatethe body of an infant and thereby enable said bunting to accommodate andclosely confine the body of an infant of shorter girth, whereby thereleasable fasteners of the first said plurality of releasable fastenersand said releasable fasteners of said plurality of complementaryreleasable fasteners enable said bunting to accommodate and closelyconfine the bodies of infants of differing heights and differing girths,said some of the laterally-spaced releasable fasteners of the first saidplurality of releasable fasteners and said some of the laterally-spacedreleasable fasteners of said plurality of complementary releasablefasteners coacting to provide a coarse size adjustment for saidenclosure in the lateral direction, the stretchable nature of saidstretch fabric of saidv front panel and of said rear panel of saidenclosure enabling said front panel and said rear panel of saidenclosure toprovide a fine size adjustment for said enclosure in thelateral direction, and a pressure-distribution liner that is releasablyfastened to said rear panel, said pressuredistribution liner overlyingsaid tubes of said further fluid-conveying tubing to distribute evenlyto said body of said infant the forces which said tubes of said furtherfluid-conveying tubing otherwise would distribute unevenly to said bodyof said infant, said pressure-distribution liner having openings thereinin register with said releasable fasteners of the first said pluralityof releasable fasteners and in register with said releasable fastenersof said complementary plurality of releasable fasteners to permitsecurement of said releasable fasteners of the first said plurality ofreleasable fasteners to said releasable fasteners of said complementaryplurality of releasable fasteners through said openings.

1. An infant bunting for enclosing the body of an infant and forcontrolling the body temperature of said infant comprising a flexibleenclosure sized to receive said body of said infant, said enclosurehaving a front portion disposable in register with the front of saidbody of said infant and having a rear portion disposable in registerwith the rear of said body of said Infant, tubing which is connected tothe surface of said front portion of said enclosure in a patterndistributing said tubing over substantially the entire surface of saidfront portion of said enclosure that contacts said front of saidinfant''s body and which confines and guides heat-exchanging fluid formovement in heat-exchanging relation with respect to said front of saidinfant''s body, further tubing connected to the surface of said rearportion of said enclosure in a pattern distributing said further tubingover substantially the entire surface of said rear portion of saidenclosure that contacts said rear of said infant''s body and whichconfines and guides heat-exchanging fluid for movement inheat-exchanging relation with respect to said rear of said infant''sbody, means to control the temperature of said heat-exchanging fluidmoving through the first said tubing and also through said furthertubing, releasable fastener means on said front portion of saidenclosure which are spaced inwardly from edges of said front portion ofsaid enclosure, and complementary releasable fastener means on said rearportion of said enclosure which are spaced inwardly from edges of saidrear portion of said enclosure, the first said releasable fastener meansbeing in register with and being selectively securable to and releasablefrom said complementary releasable fastener means, the first saidreleasable fastener means and said complementary releasable fastenermeans being releasable from each other to permit a large amount of thearea of said front portion of said enclosure to be moved far enough awayfrom a corresponding amount of the area of said rear portion of saidenclosure to enable said bunting to accommodate but confine the body ofa large infant, the first said releasable fastener means and saidcomplementary releasable fastener means being securable together to joinsaid front portion of said enclosure to said rear portion of saidenclosure at points which are spaced inwardly of said edges of saidfront portion and of said rear portion of said enclosure, and therebyreduce the amount of area of said front portion of said enclosure whichcan be moved far enough away from a corresponding amount of the area ofsaid rear portion of said enclosure to accommodate but confine the bodyof a smaller infant, whereby selective securing or releasing of thefirst said releasable fastener means and of said complementaryreleasable fastener means readily and directly varies the effective sizeof said bunting for conformance of said bunting to the bodies of infantsof varying sizes.
 1. An infant bunting for enclosing the body of aninfant and for controlling the body temperature of said infantcomprising a flexible enclosure sized to receive said body of saidinfant, said enclosure having a front portion disposable in registerwith the front of said body of said infant and having a rear portiondisposable in register with the rear of said body of said Infant, tubingwhich is connected to the surface of said front portion of saidenclosure in a pattern distributing said tubing over substantially theentire surface of said front portion of said enclosure that contactssaid front of said infant''s body and which confines and guidesheat-exchanging fluid for movement in heat-exchanging relation withrespect to said front of said infant''s body, further tubing connectedto the surface of said rear portion of said enclosure in a patterndistributing said further tubing over substantially the entire surfaceof said rear portion of said enclosure that contacts said rear of saidinfant''s body and which confines and guides heat-exchanging fluid formovement in heat-exchanging relation with respect to said rear of saidinfant''s body, means to control the temperature of said heat-exchangingfluid moving through the first said tubing and also through said furthertubing, releasable fastener means on said front portion of saidenclosure which are spaced inwardly from edges of said front portion ofsaid enclosure, and complementary releasable fastener means on said rearportion of said enclosure which are spaced inwardly from edges of saidrear portion of said enclosure, the first said releasable fastener meansbeing in register with and being selectively securable to and releasablefrom said complementary releasable fastener means, the first saidreleasable fastener means and said complementary releasable fastenermeans being releasable from each other to permit a large amount of thearea of said front portion of said enclosure to be moved far enough awayfrom a corresponding amount of the area of said rear portion of saidenclosure to enable said bunting to accommodate but confine the body ofa large infant, the first said releasable fastener means and saidcomplementary releasable fastener means being securable together to joinsaid front portion of said enclosure to said rear portion of saidenclosure at points which are spaced inwardly of said edges of saidfront portion and of said rear portion of said enclosure, and therebyreduce the amount of area of said front portion of said enclosure whichcan be moved far enough away from a corresponding amount of the area ofsaid rear portion of said enclosure to accommodate but confine the bodyof a smaller infant, whereby selective securing or releasing of thefirst said releasable fastener means and of said complementaryreleasable fastener means readily and directly varies the effective sizeof said bunting for conformance of said bunting to the bodies of infantsof varying sizes.
 2. The infant bunting of claim 1 wherein said frontportion of said enclosure is a front panel, wherein said rear portion ofsaid enclosure is a rear panel, wherein the first said releasablefastener means are individual and discrete fasteners longitudinallyaligned and spaced inwardly from the side edges of said front panel andare further individual and discrete fasteners laterally aligned andspaced upwardly from the lower edge of said front panel, wherein saidcomplementary releasable fastener means are individual and discretefasteners longitudinally aligned and spaced inwardly from the side edgesof said rear panel and are further individual and discrete fastenerslaterally aligned and spaced upwardly from the lower edge of said rearpanel, whereby the first said releasable fastener means and saidcomplementary releasable fastener means coact to permit said effectivesize of said bunting to be adjusted longitudinally as well as laterally.3. The infant bunting of claim 1 wherein said front portion of saidenclosure is made of stretch fabric that is stretchable in at least thelateral direction, wherein said rear portion of said enclosure is madeof stretch fabric that is stretchable in at least the lateral direction,wherein the first said releasable fastener means and said complementaryreleasable fastener means coact to provide a coarse size adjustment inthe lateral direction, and wherein the stretchable nature of saidstretch fabric of said front portion and of said rear portion of saidenclosure enable said front portion and said rear portion of saidenclosure to provide a fine size adjustment in the lateral direction. 4.The infant bunting of claim 1 wherein the first said tubing is fluidconveying tubing, wherein said further tubing is fluid conveying tubing,wherein the first said tubing comprises a plurality of individual tubeseach having a supply span and a return span, wherein the tube spans ofthe first said tubing are located with supply spans alternating withreturn spans for uniform temperature distribution over the surface ofsaid front portion of said enclosure, wherein said further tubingcomprises a further plurality of individual tubes each having a supplyspan and a return span, wherein the tube spans of said further tubingare located with supply spans alternating with return spans for uniformtemperature distribution over the surface of said rear portion of saidenclosure, wherein supply manifold means supply fluid to said supplyspans of the first said and said further tubing, and wherein returnmanifold means receive fluid from said return spans of the first saidand said further tubing.
 5. The infant bunting of claim 1 wherein saidfront portion of said enclosure is a front panel, wherein said rearportion of said enclosure is a rear panel, wherein the first saidreleasable fastener means are individual and discrete fasteners, whereinsaid complementary releasable fastener means are further individual anddiscrete fasteners, wherein a pressure-distribution liner is releasablyfastened to said rear panel, wherein said pressure-distribution lineroverlies said further tubing and can distribute evenly to said body ofsaid infant the forces which said further tubing otherwise woulddistribute unevenly to said body of said infant, and wherein saidpressure-distribution liner has openings therein in register with thefirst said and said further releasable fastener means to enable thefirst said and said further releasable fastener means to engage eachother through said openings.
 6. An infant bunting for controlling bodytemperature comprising front and rear panels joined at their side andbottom edges to form a pocket open at its upper end to receive the bodyof an infant, a plurality of small-diameter tubes fastened in asubstantially uniformly spaced array to a surface of said front panel, asecond plurality of small-diameter tubes fastened in a substantiallyuniformly spaced array to a surface of said rear panel, each tube of thefirst said plurality of small-diameter tubes having a supply span forreceiving temperature-controlled fluid and a return span for returningsaid temperature-controlled fluid after said temperature-controlledfluid has been in heat-exchanging relation with said body of saidinfant, each tube of said second plurality of small-diameter tubeshaving a supply span for receiving temperature-controlled fluid and areturn span for returning said temperature-controlled fluid after saidtemperature-controlled fluid has been in heat-exchanging relation withsaid body of said infant, distributor means to receive saidtemperature-controlled fluid from a source of temperature-controlledfluid and to supply said temperature-controlled fluid to said supplyspans of said tubes of the first said plurality of small-diameter tubesand to supply said temperature-controlled fluid to said supply spans ofsaid tubes of said second plurality of small-diameter tubes and therebyenable the first said plurality and said second plurality ofsmall-diameter tubes to circulate temperature-controlled fluid inheat-exchanging relation with said body of said infant, furtherdistributor means connected to said return spans of said tubes of thefirst said plurality of small-diameter tubes and to said return spans ofsaid tubes of said second plurality of small-diameter tubes to receivesaid temperature-controlled fluid from said tubes of the first saidplurality and said second plurality of small-diameter tubes after saidtemperature-controlled fluid has been in heat-exchanging relation withsaid body of said infant and to return said temperature-controlled fluidto said source of temperature-controlled fluid, releasable fastenermeans on said front panel that are distributed longitudinally andlaterally of said front panel, complementary releasable fastener meanson said rear panel that are distributed longitudinally and laterally onsaid rear panel, the first said releasable fastener means and saidcomplementary releasable fastener means being releasable to permit largeamounts of the contronting areas of said front panel and of said rearpanel to be moved apart to accommodate the body of a large infant, someof the longitudinally-distributed releasable fastener means of the firstsaid releasable fastener means and some of thelongitudinally-distributed releasable fastener means of saidcomplementary releasable fastener means being securable together toreduce the amounts of said confronting areas of said front and said rearpanels which can be moved apart to accommodate the body of an infant andthereby enable said bunting to accommodate and closely confine the bodyof an infant of smaller girth, some of the laterally-distributedreleasable fastener means of the first said releasable fastener meansand some of the laterally-distributed releasable fastener means of saidcomplementary releasable fastener means being securable together toreduce the amounts of said confronting areas of said front and said rearpanels which can be moved apart to accommodate the body of an infant andthereby enable said bunting to accommodate and closely confine the bodyof an infant of shorter height, whereby the first said releasablefastener means and said complementary releasable fastener means enablesaid bunting to accommodate and closely confine the bodies of infants ofdiffering girths and differing heights.
 7. The infant bunting of claim 1wherein zippers selectively connect and free the edges of openings insaid enclosure, wherein said zippers have electrostatically conductivezipper bindings, wherein said enclosure has electrostatically conductivecloth strips, and wherein said electrostatically conductive zipperbindings and said electrostatically conductive cloth strips are incommunication electrostatically with a central conductive tab to permitgrounding of the bunting to the operating table by placing said centralconductive tab in engagement with said operating table.
 8. The infantbunting of claim 1 wherein said front portion of said enclosure issubdivided into two sides, wherein each of said two sides is selectivelymovable to an open position wherein it is spaced away from thecorresponding side of the front of the body of an infant disposed withinsaid enclosure to permit medical procedures to be carried out on saidcorresponding side of said front of said body of said infant, whereineach of said two sides is selectively movable to a closed positionwherein it is in intimate contact with the corresponding side of saidfront of said body of said infant, and wherein adjustable releasablecircumferential fastener tabs span the opened side of said buntingduring medical procedures thereby maintaining the closed side of thebunting in intimate contact with the corresponding side of said front ofsaid body of said infant.